@PGFDPIO Twitter

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

After months of negotiations between the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. and Prince George’s County the sale of the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department Station 2 and property has been completed. The sale involved the 1- 1/2 acre parcel including the existing structure serving as a Fire/EMS Station located at 7710 Croom Road in Upper Marlboro. The transfer of ownership to Prince George’s County is mutually beneficial to the Marlboro Volunteers and Prince George’s County. Citizens and residents will not see any interruptions in service as there are no operational changes planned for the Fire/EMS Station. Currently, the newly named Croom Fire/EMS Station is staffed by 5 career Firefighter/Medics that are responsible for response of an Engine, Water Tanker, Haz-Mat Support Unit and Paramedic Unit.

Prince George's County Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor stated, "I appreciate the leadership of the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department working with the County to complete this transaction. This move will allow the MVFD to consolidate volunteer staffing at the Pratt Street station and focus the Volunteer Corporations efforts on one station. We are proud of the many hours the men and women of the MVFD have provided and continue to provide towards staffing equipment, stewarding a cadet program, and contributing to the Fire/EMS Department’s overall fire prevention efforts."

Jeff Wyvill, 2014 President of the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. ceremoniously hands the keys to the Croom Fire/EMS Station over to County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor

Jeff Wyvill, 2014 President of the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. ceremoniously hands the keys to the Croom Fire/EMS Station over to County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor

The following are statistics are from calendar year 2014. Many of the statistics and data have a link that will provide additional information. Simply click on the link to be taken to that information.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Prince George's County Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor and several members of his command staff attended a celebratory dinner at the Morningside Volunteer Fire Department on Monday, December 29. The Morningside Volunteers were celebrating their 1-year anniversary of being a 100% volunteer department.

In recognition of this achievement Fire Chief Bashoor presented Morningside Volunteer Chief Poetker with a Meritorious Service Award.

In making the presentation Fire Chief Bashoor stated;

Thank you for everything you do – especially for the service you provide to the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department and more importantly to the communities we serve.

The MVFD’s performance ensuring both fire and emergency medical transport services are provided out of the Morningside station has been tremendous – indeed there has been a significant cost savings, allowing career personnel to be redeployed to other locations where there was a more urgent need for career staffing.

Of the nine all-volunteer stations in Prince George’s County, six provide service for both fire and EMS transport services. Two of those, Bladensburg and Morningside have been able to provide continuous fire and ambulance coverage over the past year, congratulations.

Chief Poetker and I spoke the other day, much as Chief White and I have spoken for the past couple of years, in terms of this odyssey. Chief Poetker told me, he “knew we were standing on opposite sides of the fence”, however he was glad to have that behind us. I would like to say that I don’t believe we were ever on opposite sides – we were on the same track when we came to a crossroads. Thankfully, we both stayed on the correct track – that is the track to provide fire and EMS transport service to our communities.

On behalf of County Executive Rushern Baker III, I applaud your service to Prince George’s County. As your Fire Chief, I thank you for the time, service, dedication, and the sacrifices that you and your membership make everyday to ensure fire and ambulance service is maintained at Morningside.

Chief Poetker, on behalf of all of your membership, please accept my thanks and appreciation, and this Department Meritorious Service award.

Monday, December 29, 2014

The goal of the Fire/EMS Department is not to dampen the celebration of a New Year - our goal is to keep you safe from hazards that you may not think of. The use of fireworks on New Years Eve into New Years Day is second only to the Fourth of July. Citizens, residents and visitors should be aware that the use of all consumer fireworks in Prince George's County is illegal. Firefighters and Paramedics recommend that you leave the pyrotechnics to the experts and leave consumer purchased fireworks out of your celebration planning.Prince George’s County has banned the sale, use and possession of these fireworks based on the danger to our citizens caused by the misuse of these products. The danger is particularly high and a matter of concern for firefighters and paramedics as many New Year celebrations involve the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol may impair the judgement and common sense of the most well-intentioned individual and cause injury to themselves or innocent by-standers and ignite a fire.

The Law in Prince George’s County.

• It is illegal for any person to manufacture, possess, store, offer for sale, sell, discharge, use, burn, or explode any fireworks in Prince George's County, Maryland, except that an authorized display may be conducted by a licensed pyrotechnic professional. Penalties for violations of the law include a fine of up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail.

• Each year, thousands of people are injured and some killed in accidents involving the use of fireworks. These primarily involve those fireworks classified as 1.4g explosives by the U.S. Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as "consumer fireworks."

Remember, SAFETY FIRST, will ensure everyone goes home.

Keep in mind that other jurisdictions allow the use of certain consumer fireworks. Do not be confused with our law in Prince George's County, regardless of where they are purchased legally, you can not transport or use retail fireworks - all fireworks are illegal in Prince George's County.

If you purchased or possess fireworks and are in Prince George's County call 301-583-2200 to surrender your items. A member of the County Office of the Fire Marshal will come to pick up your fireworks without fear of prosecution.

Some neighboring jurisdictions can legally sell fireworks. Fireworks are being sold in some big box warehouse stores, among other places - they are illegal to transport and use in Prince George's County.

Some neighboring jurisdictions can legally sell fireworks. Fireworks are being sold in big box warehouse stores, among other places - they are illegal to transport and use in Prince George's County.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Prince George's County Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor updated members of the media and community today in front of the home where an 83-year-old man lost his life on Christmas Eve morning. During his update Bashoor officially released the names of the two deceased individuals from the Christmas Eve fire and also from the one occurring early Christmas morning. Chief Bashoor also announced a "Adopt A Neighborhood" program and an internet based GIS program to track homes that have working smoke alarms and those that need them.Fire Chief Bashoor was joined by City of Bowie Mayor Fred Robinson, Deputy Fire Chief Ben Barksdale and Jim McClelland and Firefighter/Medics from the Departments 2nd Battalion.

Here are Fire Chief Bashoor's comments from the press conference.

We welcome everyone to a beautiful sunny morning – a sun
that only briefly masks the grief that several families and our Fire/EMS
Department in Prince George’s County have experienced over the past 2 days.

We’re standing in front of this burned out home, where 83
year old Kenneth Sowder lost his life in a Christmas Eve fire.Another occupant of the home smelled the
smoke from the fire – a fire that probably started about 8:15 a.m..I say probably 8:15, because it took time for
that fire to develop, and for the smoke to make it down to the bedrooms where
both occupants laid.Sadly, there was no
working smoke alarms in this home to give both occupants early notification of
the growing fire.The first calls came
into the 911 Center at 8:30 a.m. – by that time, the fire was already well
advanced.Helped by neighbors, the
female occupant was able to exit the home through a window.Firefighters were able to quickly reach Mr.
Sowder, remove him to the outside, and immediately begin advanced life support
efforts.Sadly, Mr. Sowder succumbed to
injuries from the smoke and fire. Fire
investigators have determined that a space heater too close to combustibles was
the cause of this fire.

Fast forward to Christmas morning, about 2:15 a.m.A working smoke alarm in a duplex on Booker
Drive in Seat Pleasant, awoke 2 sleeping residents.Experiencing very similar circumstances, one
occupant was able to jump out of a top floor window, while that occupant and
neighbors tried valiantly to pull 84-year-old Fannie Kirkland out of another
top floor window – That attempt was complicated by the high windows and an open
staircase inside the home, which unfortunately provides an internal chimney for
heat and smoke to rapidly expand.While
the working smoke alarm gave the residents early warning and extra time to try
and escape, sadly the results on Booker Drive were the same as here on Park
Drive.One occupant was able to escape
through a window, while firefighters were unable to get to 84-year-old Fannie
Kirkland in time – she succumbed to the smoke and fire in an upper floor
bedroom.This fire remains under active
investigation.

Even with these sad events, Prince George’s County has
experienced a 70% reduction in fire fatalities in 2014 over 2013.There is a very sobering statistic though,
that needs immediate attention.Four of
the five fire fatalities this year occurred in residential dwellings where we
found NO WORKING SMOKE ALARMS… let me say that again, 4 out of 5 fire deaths in
the past year occurred in homes where there was NO WORKING SMOKE ALARM.Three of the 4 fatalities have been in single
family homes here in Bowie communities.Staff and I will be addressing the City of Bowie Council meeting on
January 5 as part of a public education effort.As Fire Chief, I take each and every one of these fatalities personally
– frankly I approach them partially as a failure of our fire prevention and
fire safety public education efforts, not that we did anything wrong, but we obviously need to do more. We
should be at ZERO.

While the 4 out of 5 fatalities in homes with NO WORKING
SMOKE ALARM is a sobering statistic, we have also documented over 3 dozen
instances in 2014, where working smoke alarms have successfully alerted
residents to a fire in their home – 9 of those instances actually awoke
residents from a deep sleep.On December
21st, the Rojas family was alerted to a fire in their Bunker Hill home by their
smoke alarm – all 4 family members escaped unharmed.In fact, until the tragic Booker Drive
incident, EVERY ONE of those alerted by those smoke alarms in 2014 was able to
escape uninjured.Despite Mrs. Kirklands
tragic death, the early notification those smoke alarms provided is a success
story that every resident listening to me today, should take to heart.

Prince George’s County enacted legislation in 1982 that
REQUIRES smoke alarms in every residential dwelling unit.Further, in 1987, Prince George’s County
enacted legislation that requires residential sprinklers in all new homes.The smoke alarm legislation was retro-active
to ALL homes, the sprinkler legislation only affected new homes or major
renovations moving forward.The Prince
George’s County Fire/EMS Department has some of the best fire prevention
legislation in the United States, however we continue to have fire fatalities
in homes that we find unprotected.

We have wonderful corporate relationships with PEPCO, KIDDE,
& FIRST ALERT along with others, who donate smoke alarms and carbon
monoxide detectors to the Department annually.Our firefighters and paramedics, operating out of 45 neighborhood
fire/EMS stations come out to homes and install these alarms FREE of charge – we
KNOW that working smoke alarms save lives, but clearly we need to do more.

Today, as a direct result of this fire and the others like
it, I am announcing a renewed effort within our Safe Families Program.While Firefighters and paramedics will be
going door-to-door after this press conference here in this community, and this
afternoon in the Booker Drive community as part of our Post Incident
Neighborhood Intervention Program (PINIP), as neighbors within these
communities, we can NOT let the effort stop when we leave these two communities
today.As part of the
Neighbors-Helping-Neighbors initiative, I am calling on all of our
neighborhoods to help us out – the Fire/EMS Department can NOT do this alone.

We are developing a new Adopt-A-Neighborhood effort where we
will ask neighborhood businesses to step up and help us fund the smoke alarm
and carbon monoxide detector effort.The
Fire/EMS Department will track the Neighborhood efforts, with a web-GIS based
program that will verify homes have been properly equipped and tested.The Fire/EMS Department will continue to
install the alarms (as long as we have a supply), free of charge to those who
are unable to afford their own.If you
have a detector or alarm and just need a little help putting it up or checking
it, call 311 and we will come put it up the same day that we receive the
information.The Adopt-A-Neighborhood
effort will endeavor to develop improved fire prevention and public education
efforts, using the both paid and volunteer members of our Fire/EMS Department
who already operate in our neighborhoods.We will not just come and go – we will remain in the neighborhood until
all homes are protected, and we will develop lasting
Neighbors-Helping-Neighbors efforts that will ultimately improve everyone’s
safety.

I am pleased to announce the first business who has stepped
up to Adopt–A-Neighborhood.The
International Association of Firefighters and Paramedics, Local 1619, whose
corporate offices are located on Melford Boulevard at the entrance to this
neighborhood, has agreed to adopt the Sherwood Manor neighborhood.The Local will work with the Department to
identify funding to ensure every home in this neighborhood is safer.

I am challenging any business, municipality, 501c3, or other
business entity within our neighborhoods to step up and participate in this
program.I said it before, it bears
repeating… Your Fire/EMS Department can NOT do this alone, and it is clear that
our neighborhoods need help.Any
business or neighborhood entity willing to become a partner in the program is
urged to call the following number; 301-864-SAFE (7233).As we develop the mechanisms to track the
information and expand our Adopt-A-Neighborhood program, I am confident that we
will experience a safer Prince George’s County.

President of the Prince George's County Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association, IAFF Local 1619, Andrew Pantelis spoke on his organizations commitment to ensuring homes are equipped with working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Pantelis challenged other organizations and businesses to step and join the program that will save lives.

After the press conference firefighter/medics started their door-to-door campaign to talk with residents about the Park Drive incident, check smoke alarms, offer advice on homes escape plans and provide general fire safety information.

Firefighters will also conduct a PINIP in the Capitol Heights neighborhood on Booker Drive this afternoon at 4:00 pm.

LODD April 15, 2016

Fire Fighter/Medic Lieutenant John "Skillet" Ulmschneider

Donate to Sparky Fire Fund

Tragically firefighters will find pets that have been injured in home fires. Sometimes owners are not availiable to bring their pet to a emergency vet or may not have the resources to afford medical care. The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department and the Anne Arundel County SPCA have teamed up and created a fund whereas medical care for the pet would be covered in part or in full.
Please consider donating today. Please designate your donation to the Sparky Fire Fund.
Click here to donate - designate Sparky Fire Fund